Ask HN: Can Aspartame cause diabetes | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can Aspartame cause diabetes

3 pointssmithmayowa3 comments

Do drinks that utilize aspartame as their sweetener instead of sugar also cause diabetes, or do they have bad side effects.

I stopped taking sugary drinks months ago but recently was introduced to drinks with aspartame as a good substitute to sugary drink and I will like to know if they really are a healthy substitute for sugary drinks.

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It is considered as a safe supplement. However, I have an awkward experience with artificially sweetened gum during my oral glucose tolerance test. I had pregnancy diabetes during maternity and my father had Type-II diabetes, so I did this as a check-up following child-birth. Before this test I fasted overnight, than went to the lab and drank a very sugary liquid. My blood sugar measured for at the beginning and hourly for 3 hours. I wasn't allowed to eat anything, or drink too much water. After the third measurement, I got very thirsty, also was feeling nauseated and asked if I am allowed to chew a gum to help moisten my mouth, and they said no problem. Gum not only helped moistened my mouth also helped me feel much better. I taught that was help of menthol. Than I got my results and there was a rapid increase in my blood sugar at the fourth measurement. Lab did not worry about the results because all my measurements was in acceptable limits. But how that measurement had risen became a mystery for me. I'm not sure which sweeteners that gum included, but it was a well-known gum brand with a clear non-sugar label.

In any means, I myself try to stay away from sugary drinks, and any kind of sweeteners as much as possible. If it's a special occasion, or a meal that I really like with a certain sugary drink as a side, I drink. But I don't replace with an artificially sweetened version. You will get used to live without them, and will not crave after a while.

I’ve read about research that suggests that tasting sweet things causes your body to release insulin in anticipation of a boost in blood glucose.

With artificial sweeteners, that glucose boost never occurs, but the insulin is in your bloodstream anyway. That helps contribute to insulin resistance - which is a key feature of type II diabetes.

I don’t know if there have been studies explicitly making this link, but it’s certainly plausible.

Anecdotal evidence from my personal experience. I am diabetic. After watching my body's response to aspartame, I dropped eating or drinking anything with it in it. It also caused a brain fuzziness where I had trouble recalling words and memories. This affect was also reported by a friend who was drinking lots of aspartame. Try to focus on non-sweetened or naturally sweetened. If you go for artificial, spread your consumption around to the various types to keep the negative effects minimized.[1]

[1] http://vqrn.com/Sugar-Free-Foods.html

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